US: Existing-home sales slip 0.7% in July

"Existing-home sales subsided for the fourth straight month in July to their slowest pace in over two years," the National Association of Realtors reported on Wednesday.

Key quotes

• Total existing-home sales decreased 0.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.34 million in July from 5.38 million in June.
• With last month’s decline, sales are now 1.5 percent below a year ago and have fallen on an annual basis for five straight months.
• Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist: "Too many would-be buyers are either being priced out, or are deciding to postpone their search until more homes in their price range come onto the market."
  • “Existing supply is still not at a healthy level, and new home construction is not keeping up to meet demand.”